San Francisco Animal Care & Control at capacity

(File photo of a dog at the Animal Control center)

September 1, 2011 11:28:10 AM PDT

by Sergio Quintana

SAN FRANCISCO --

There is a crisis with abandoned dogs in San Francisco that's so large, the Animal Care & Control Service says they cannot take any more dogs right now. The center says they've seen a surge in the number of dogs being surrendered to the shelter in the last few months, a possible sign of the tough economy.

Deputy Director Kathleen Brown says they have been taking in about 25 more dogs per month this year compared to last year.

"It has to do with the saturation of our rescue partners, and we think that it costs money to adopt a dog and to care for it appropriately," Brown said.

Brown says they're hoping anyone who may find a stray can care for that dog for the time being. They should contact Animal Care and control to help connect the stray with its proper owner.

In an effort to clear out space in the dog kennels, pet adoption prices have been cut in half.

"Our sale lasts until September 12," Brown said. "We hope we can see some relief over the weekend."